The Formula 1 teams McLaren, Mercedes, and Lotus have all indicated when they will launch their new 2014 race car models, according to a release on Formula 1.com on Tuesday, January 7. Many of the launch dates have to do with whether or not the teams will participate in the first pre-season testing day in Jerez, Spain in late January, or whether they will release details of their new cars before that or at another time.

Photo by Christopher Lee

McLaren has announced, for example, according to Formula 1, that it will debut its car online ahead of the Jerez testing day. On Friday, January 24, the Mercedes-powered MP4-29 car will be given a "digital-only online launch." Details including images and videos will be released on the team's official website four days ahead of the Jerez testing day, where the team will also participate.

Mercedes has announced that it will debut its car on the first day of testing in Jerez on January 28. Jerez testing goes from January 28-31.

Meanwhile, Lotus has announced that it will not attend the Jerez testing but will wait to reveal its new car, the E22, sometime before the Bahrain testing session in mid-February, according to Formula 1.

Lotus technical director, Nick Chester, stated, "We’re going to keep our car under wraps a little longer than some other teams. We’ve decided that attending the Jerez test (on January 28-31) isn’t ideal for our build and development programme."

"We are likely to unveil the car before attending the Bahrain tests," he said, "and in Bahrain we should really be able to put the car through its paces in representative conditions."

Pre-season testing for 2014 takes place in Jerez, Spain from January 28-31 and in Bahrain from February 19-22. A third and final session is scheduled for February 27-March 2, also in Bahrain.

The first Grand Prix of the year takes place in Australia on March 14-16.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Connie Ann Kirk has been credentialed by the FIA to write about Formula 1. She is working on a new book about racers and racing with a historic racer from upstate New York.

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Connie has been credentialed by the FIA to write about Formula One and is also a credentialed writer for NASCAR and historic/vintage racing events in the U.S. and U.K., such as SVRA races and Goodwood. She holds a Ph.D. in English and is the author of a dozen books & thousands of articles on a variety of subjects. Connie has contributed to Examiner.com since May, 2009 and is working on a book about racers and racing. Feel free to contact Dr. Kirk any time at: connieannkirk@gmail.com.